Vault latch



Aug. 19, 1930. G, M, FARABOUQH ET AL y 1,773,351

, Filed Sept. 12. 1927 Fr/ii BMawy,

ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 19, 1930Y fUNrrEnsrAs Aralar Fries GEORGE ivi. FARABOUGH, or Roenes, ARKANSAS., Ann G12-overt o. MoUrRAY, or FOUNTAIN, COLORADO VAULT LATCH "Application llet. September 12, 19277. Serial No. 219,012.

Our invention relates to a vault latch ap-v pliance for latching thevault door nearly closed but not completely closed, 'and is by us vdesignated asa daylight protectorof bank ,V6 iinployees against being locked in thevaults, and for similar institutions or events and especially against bank robbers locking persons in vaults. Y Y Y This appliance has iforits object the autol10 the inside, but not from the outside, except by use of a specially constructedinstrument.

We attain this object ,by means of the mechanical latch appliance illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1, is an elevation of a section of a vault and of a vault door; Fig. 2,y is awperspective view of the latch bolt 5, shown inverted; Fig. l3, is `a perspective View of the latch housing l showing its open bottom side; Fig. 4, is a side view of the trigger element 7 Fig. 5, is an edge view of the vtrigger element7 Fig. 6, is a perspective View of the strike element or keeper 6;`Fig. 7, is asectional elevation of part of the housing andshowing the latch bolt 5 released from the trigger element 7 and in latched position with the keeper'or strike 6 at its position a; Fig. 8. isa sectional elevation of part of the housingvll, and showing with 7 the relative positions of the bolt 5 and of the strikemember 6 when the door is in different .positions of swing, as 63,6", and 6; a, in Fig. 7 indicates the positionvof the strike or keeper when the door is in operative position, latched; ZJ indicates the posiltionof the keeper when the door is completely closed; c indicates position of keeper or strike 6 when the door is open.

Similar numerals and ters refer to similar parts and positions Vthroughout the several views. As shownin Fig. 1, the housing 4 is attached to the inner wall of the vault 1 over the doorway of the 45 vault door 2, and in the path of the keeper or` strike 6, and which we choose to hereafter designate as a keeper 6, and which is rigidly secured to the top of the door 2 near its in! ner lower edge in a position to pass under said natie latching of the vault door at a position when almost closed; and is unlatchable from designating charac-V housing when the door is closed completely,`

andin a position to engage the downwardly extending trigger member7 near its end 12 andforce it inwardly or `outwardly of the vault as the Akeeper passes. i n

lnvassembling the parts, the cover 9 is re- 5 moved and the trigger member .7 is inserted with the end 12 downwardly and the ypivot pin 10 inserted into the bearing 16 to support it like a pendulum. The latch bolt 5 is then inserted withthe lugs 17 and 18 downward so thatthe pin 8 isslidablyfmounted in the groove 13,. The cover`9 is then replaced and secured, preferably with screws, and the hous-v ing secured toits place as indicated in Fig. 1 in position so that the long lug 17 will eX- tend down slightly belowA the lower edge of the housingand the bottom of the housing will just clear Yabove vthe keeper 6, and so the long lu`g17 will clearwhen the bolt 5 isl supported on the hor`n11 by the pin 15d, but "79 when the door is being closed the keeper 6 is forced into'` Contact with the trigger members 7 while moving in the direction indicated by the arrows 1, 2, 3, and releases the horn 11fr from supporting the pin 15d and the bolt 5 drops down as shown in Fig. 7 obstructing the complete closing `of the door by the long lug 17, and at the same time `the Shorter lug 18 intercepts the re-opening of the door as shown in Fig. 7. by the lugs 17 and 18 dropping on either side of the keeper 6, which has entered the recess 19 between lugs 17 and 18. The door and latchV mechanism will be held in the position indicated in Fig. 7 untilthebolt- 5is forcedup so as to releasethe keeper 6, and re-engage the pin 15e with the horn 11g as shown in Fig. 8. The bolt 5 is protected from falling below a certain desired position by Y means of the pin 8 secured in the groove 18, as Ashown 1n Figs. 3, 7, 8. The slotted recesses so 141, shown in Figs.v 3, 7, 8, provide swinging room for thetrigger member 7 to pass up so that the keeper 6 can pass under it.

On completely closing the door the bolt 5 and trigger member 7 .are left in the position Lshown in Fig. 8, andas the 'door is being opened the latch is automatically adjusted in positionV to prevent complete closure, by reason of the keeper G passing to the left in the direction opposite Vto that indicated by te, l

the arrow 2 and shoving the trigger member 7 to the position indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 8, so that the horn 11t engages the pin 15d and holds the bolt. 5 up in locking posiion. This may be' proper in case a cashier is forced to unlock the door andthe burglar forces him inside without opportunity to set the latch. Said trigger member 7 acts as an cscapement trip on the pins 15d and 15e supporting the latch bolt on the horns 11,

and 11g.

We have a special tool to unlatch the bolt 5 from the keeper 6 from the outside, and the person inside can unlatch it with his hand :is he wishes.

As a rule the doors of a vault are unusually heavy and close slowly because of the inertia to be overcome, and the bolt will have time to drop after the keeper 6 has engaged the ond 12 of the trigger member 7 and released the pin 15d from the horn 11f but to insure the arrest of the door we have constructed the long lug 17, while in its` latched up position, to as low as the lowest part of the housing 4, while the lug 18 ismuch shorter but has time to pass down over the top of the keeper 6 before the rebound of the door from contact with the keeper 6 and the lug 17.

vThe automatic setting of this latch in position to latch the door in av partly open position is one of its advantages over the patent formerly received by us which is Patent No. 1,547,999, dated July 28, 1925. 1/Ve are still the owners of that patent and consider this application as an improvement on said Patent Number 1,547,999, of July 28, 1925.

If a bank officer or other person is forced` to open a vault door with this latch properly mounted, he does not have to set the latch as it automatically is set by the keeper 6 as the door is being opened and if he is immediately shut in the vault he may have air through the partly open door, and have protection from the assailing party who is latched out, and the party in the vault can unlatch the door at his chosen time. 1n opening the door from a complete closure the bottom of lug 17 may rest on the. keeper 6 until the hornY 11t engages the pin l5d and secures the bolt gsuspended as shown' by the dotted lines in F ig. 8.

Having thus described our vault latch we claiml. A vault latch of the class described comprising an upwardly extending keeper rigidly secured near the top, on the inner side of a door, a drop-latch-bolt vertically and operatively mounted to drop endwise in a housing rigidly mounted on the inner wall of the door frame and over the swingway path of said keeper, two downwardly extending integrall lugs, on the lower end of said bolt adapted to engage both sides of said keeper and thusV latch said door in a partly open position, a supporting swinging latch mechanism within said housing comprising a hanging trigger member having projecting horns adapted to engage projecting pins on said bolt adapted to secure said vertically operating bolt above the path of said keeper, and extending below said housing and adapted to be engaged by said keeper and forced to release said bolt from engagement from said pins.

2. A vault latch of the class described comprising kan upwardly projecting keeper rigidly secured near the top of a door, a drop latch bolt operatively mounted in a housing which is rigidly secured to the inner wall of the frame ofY they 'doorway and just above the path of said keeper, two downwardly pro- .'ectinvf lues integral with said bolt and adapted to engage one on each side of said keeper as it passes beneath them, a trigger member pivotally suspended near its top end within said housing and projecting below said housing and adapted to be engaged near its lower end by said keeper, an outwardly and upwardly :extending horn-shaped projection on each of the forward faces of said trigger member adapted to engage Supporting pins supporting said bolt and adapted to be released by contact between said keeper and the lower end `of said trigger member.

3. A vault latch comprising the combination of an upwardly extending keeper member rigidly V,secured to near the top of a swinging door, a drop -latch bolt operatively mounted uprightly within a casing which is rigidly secured to a lixture within the vault, as to the frame of the doorway of the vault, and over the swingway of said door and said keeper and said bolt having two downwardly extending lugs integral with the` lower end of said bolt and spaced apart and adapted to drop downwardly and engage, one of said lugs on each side of said keeper front and rear as it may pass beneath said bolt; a latching trigger member operatively mounted to swing within said casing and adapted to support said bolt in an upright'position above the path of said keeper, a release means extending downwardly from said latching trigger member and within said casing and adapted to be engaged by said keeper and said latching trigger member so as to cause it to be forced from supporting said bolt and forced to release it from support so that it will drop down and engage the front and rear sides of said keeper by said lugs as adapted to latch said door in an almost closed position.

4. A vault latch Vof the class described adapted to latch a vault door in a nearlyclosed position while one is attempting to swing it closed and automatic means adapted to set said latch by act of opening said door comprising, in combination with a door and a door frame, a keeper secured near the top of the door, a housing secured to the frame above said keeper and in its path or way, an uprightly operative bolt within said housing and having at its lower end two lugs extending downwardly and spaced apart in the line of said path or way and forming a recess betweenV them adapted tov receive said keeper as said bolt is dropped down upon it, a pendulum-like trigger member suspended on one side of saidhousing and within said Y housing, and beside said bolt, an escapement connection between said bolt and said trigger member and adapted to support said bolt from projecting below said housing and from engaging said keeper, and consisting of a pin projecting from said boltron each side f of said trigger member and at a working distance therefrom, horns projecting from each edge of said trigger member and adapted to engage one of said pins at one time when the projecting lower end of said trigger member is swung under said pin and to support said bolt until said lower end is forced by contact with said keeper to release the engaging horn from its respective pin and thus allow said released bolt to drop by kgravitation and engage said keeper.

' 5. An automatic-setting vault-latch of the class described, comprising'an upwardlyproj ecting keeper member secured to near the top of the inside of a swinging vault door, a strong one-piece housing member secured to the inner iframe of the doorwayjust above the swing-way of said keeper, a drop-bolt member slidably mounted uprightly within said housing, two downwardly projecting lugs at the lower extremity of said bolt and spacedv apart fore-andlback forming a recess adapted to receive said keeper with one of said vlugs on each side of it, two pins projecting from the side face of said bolt yone near its front edge and the other near its rear edge, a swinging trigger` member suspended from a pin in the inner face of said housing and between said two projecting pins vand extendingsome distance above them, and extending between said bolt and the inner face of said housing, a horn shaped lug extending one from each edge of said' triggerV member on opposite sides thereof and each adapted to engage the one of said til i two pins adjacent it, when the trigger member is swung toward said pin, a longltrigger lug extending downwardly from its trigger member below said housing and adapted to engage said keeper and to release said'bolt from suspension asthe door is swung toward closing so that said lugs on said bolt will engagethe front and rear of said keeper, and latch the door at nearly-closed position. GEORGE M. FARABOUGI-I.

GROVER C. MOUTRAY. 

